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“What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit
his life?” Mark 8:36
This short and direct question is worth much meditation. In Mark’s
Gospel, this line comes within the context of Jesus teaching about
the requirements of being His disciple. And it comes after Jesus
began to explicitly teach that He Himself would suffer and die as
the Christ.
Think about this question above, starting with the first part of
the question. “What profit is there for one to gain the whole
world…” Do you want to gain the whole world? For most people, such
a possibility is quite enticing. To “gain the whole world” is to
gain everything this world has to offer. Imagine being offered
unlimited wealth in this world. What if you were to win the largest
jackpot any lottery ever offered and more? What if you were able to
have beautiful mansions around the world, your own private jet,
every modern convenience, the most expensive of cars, and the
ability to do whatever you wanted for the rest of your life? Is
this enticing? Certainly it is on a superficial level. But it is
also a very deceptive enticement, because all of this could not
make you any happier or more fulfilled than you already are.
The second part of this question is also easy to address. Would you
want to forfeit your life? Certainly not. So Jesus offers two
contrasting statements in one sentence. Most people would want to
gain the whole world but would never want to forfeit their lives.
Jesus sets up this contrast as a way of telling us very clearly
that we cannot desire one without also choosing the other. In other
words, if your heart's desire is for the riches of this world, then
you do indeed forfeit your very life to the extent that you give
into that desire. On the contrary, if you choose the salvation of
your soul, then you must forfeit the desire for the riches and
enticements of this world. You cannot desire and choose both.
With that said, there might be a very rare soul who has many things
in this world but has no attachment to them at all. They live
completely detached from the things of this world, finding true
satisfaction only in God and His holy will, becoming indifferent to
any material things they have. Of course, this is a very difficult
interior disposition for one to arrive at when they have
accumulated much wealth.
Alternately, there are those in this world who have very little.
They are truly poor in the literal sense. However, they spend their
days dreaming about riches and covet all that they do not have.
Sadly, this poor soul is, in fact, just as materially attached as
the one who has made riches the goal and focus of life. And that
interior attachment will do great spiritual damage.
Reflect, today, upon this question of Jesus: “What profit is there
for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” Use that
question as a source of prayer, meditation and self-examination.
Try to be honest about your desires. If you find that you spend
much time daydreaming about riches, then pay particular attention
to this question. Life in its fullness can never be obtained
through those desires or the fulfillment of those desires. God and
God alone fulfills. Seek God above all else and you will find that
nothing this world has to offer comes close to the riches of the
Kingdom of God.
Lord, You and You alone are the source of fulfillment in life.
Please purify my desires so that I ultimately desire only You and
Your holy will. Free me from every deception and false enticement
in life so that I will find satisfaction only in You. Jesus, I
trust in You.
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Day of Judgement by Lawrence OP, license CC BY-NC-ND
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